Author

“I believe you live great stories—first through your senses and emotions—only then through your rational self. Story lets you be any character at any place and time.” – John Jonelis

As founding editor of Chicago Venture Magazine, John writes the story of business. As an author, he writes the story of life. In both, he blends fictional characters with stark and real technology. As he explains, “Fiction gets you deep inside another’s biases, beliefs, and rational process and lets technology come to life through the eyes of a character.”

An artist turned inventor, John worked with boilermakers, engineers, and corporate boards, wrote for professional journals, patented seven inventions, and programmed a suite of successful Wall Street algorithms. His paintings hang in museums, galleries, and private collections. He and his wife live with their bull terrier in the greater Chicago area.

ROYA FETOVA, the second in the Nathan Boldt series, is coming soon.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to my Pulitzer Prize winning editor Robert Page and my agent Les Stobbe. They recognized a unique story. As a result of their efforts, suspense, characterization and human relationship intensified.

For an accurate portrayal of the art of building a birch bark canoe, credit goes to the craftsmen of the canoe shop at Grand Portage National Monument in Minnesota, and Judy Kavanagh: www.jumaka.com/birchbarkcanoe as well as the many craftsmen who enthusiastically shared their experiences.

For backwoods technology and historical inspiration, thanks to the many individual outdoorsmen and re-enactors who devote so much personal time to accurate detail and in the process, turn it into such great fun. That includes Gregg Patz, Ron Kaszubowski, and all those at Conner Prairie Indiana, Old World Wisconsin, and the Trail of History in Illinois.

Thanks to Dianne Durst for medical accuracy, Maureen Strauts for legal insights, and the Wisconsin State Police. I am grateful to all the members of the Barrington Writers Workshop, bestselling author John Tigges and his Sinipee Writers Workshop, Gregg Thornton of Moody Press and Lyndon Keyes who knows all the right people.

Special thanks to my daughter Jennifer, an extraordinary artist, video and copy editor, my son Bob, a wizard in technology, language and human matters, and my lovely wife Bonnie who put up with such long hours. As a librarian and historian, she provided thought-provoking insight and research that I cherish.

Many others read and edited the manuscript and I’ve lost contact with so many. Please send me a line. I’d love to hear from you.